Railway-mail-bag device.



PATENTED FEB. 6

C. A. GARBER.

RAILWAY MAIL BAG DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11. 1905.

CHESTER AL GARBER, OF BROOKVILLE, OHIO.

RAILWAY-WIAIIL-BAG IDIEVECE.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1906.

Application filed September 11, 1905. Serial No. 278,022.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER A. GARBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brookville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Mail-Bag Devices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled. in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accoinpanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention appertains to devices for railwayn1ail service; and it consists of improvements in means for delivering the mailsacks to the railway-cars automatically, as

hereinafter described and claimed.

Preceding a detail description of the inven tion reference is made to the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car having the device applied thereto. Fig. 2 shows enlarged detail views of the mail-bag carriage. Fig. 3 isa detail view of the crane or supporting device from which the inail-bag 1s taken. Flg. 4 is a detail of the stop mech anism or device which stops the carriage and maintains it in a proper position after reaching the interior of the car.

In a detail description of the invention similar reference characters indicate corre sponding parts.

1. designates a portion of the side of a car for example, a central portion-having a suit able window or opening 2, through which the mail-bags are delivered to the car. Extending from this window on either side are inclined tracks 3, which suitably curve and project inwardly through a window a suitable distance, as at 3", Fig. 4, and the lower ends of which terminate horizontally, as at 4, and have a stop projection 4, which prevents the carriage from leaving the lower end of the track, said lower end being supported by an arm or bracket 4. These tracks are supported throughout their lengths by a suitable number of brackets 3, which. are made fast to the side of the car. Traveling on each track is a mail-bag carrier 5, having rollers 13, which engage the upper and lower sides of the tracks. Projecting from each of these carriers is an arm 6, terminating in a hook 7,

which hook prevents the mail-bag from sliding off during the upward inclined movements of the carrier. The hooks 7 engage the mail-sacks in the following manner, according to the movement of the car-that is to say, according to the direction in which the car is moved. In Fig. 3 the crane upon which the mail-sack is placed in a position to be e11- gaged by the arm 6 is illustrated. This crane consists of a standard 9, which is placed in suitable proximity to the track or car and supports an arm. 10, which is hinged thereto and upon one end of which there is a weight which maintains the crane elevated out of an operative position, as in Fig. 1, when not supporting a mail-bag. The other end has a yoke l 1, from which projects horizontally two pins 12, that are reversible. For example, as these pins are shown in 1 they lie 011 one side of the yoke or point in the direction in which the car is supposed to be moving; they are reversible to the opposite direction, as shown in dotted lines, when the car is moved in an. opposite direction in order that 1nail-bags may be supported. for either carrier. These pins support the mail bag 8. Fig. 1 shows the yoke and the pins elevated to a vertical position on the hinge 10, while Fig. 3 shows said yoke and pins lowered to a position to support the mail-bag 8 in a position to be engaged by the arm 6. This arm engages the chain 8 of the mail-bag by passing under the chain and between the sides of the yoke, as shown in Fig. 3. The nioinentum imparted to the carriage 5 by this contact with the chain of the mail-bag is suflicient to cause said carrier, with the mail-sack supported in the arm 6, to ride up the track 3 and into the opening or window 2 of the car. When the carriage and its contents arrive on the exterior of the car, it is stopped or arrested by a detent 14 and is held in an operative position by a spring 16 connected to said detent. The carrier trips the projecting end of this detent 14 and passes said end, after which it is prevented from moving backwardly out of the window. The crane shown in Fig. 3 occupies a position and is of a size which obviates the danger usually attending the common form o'l mail-cranes.

Having described my invention, I clai1n- I11 a railway-mail-car device, inclined tracks attached to a side of the car and projecting into the car, the lower ends of said tracks ter- Ininating horizontally, means for supporting which the mail-bags are suspended, substansaid tracks away from the side of the car, a tially as shown and described. :0 carrier movable on each of said tracks, said In testimony whereof I affix my signature carrier having an arm with a hook thereon, in presence of two witnesses.

in combination with a crane upon which the CHESTER A. GARBER. mail-bags are supported in a position to be Witnesses: engaged by said arm and removed from the R. J. MGCARTY,

' crane, said crane having reversible pins upon REUBEN GARBER. 

